The original inhabitants of the Marianas, the Chamorros, are thought to have arrived by boat from the Philippines over a thousand years ago and lived peacefully as a hunter and gatherer society until the Spanish arrived in the 1500s.
While the Europeans were on the shore some islanders snuck on board the ships and helped themselves to clothing, food and tools (in exchange for basic supplies the Spanish helped themselves to on shore). This prompted Ferdinand Magellan, leader of the expedition, to name the islands "Islas De Los Ladrones", meaning, "Islands Of Thieves" and to claim the Marianas for Spain, leading to the question - who were the REAL thieves?

While the Spanish were in "control" of the islands (a convenient stopover point between Spain's other colonies in Mexico and the Philippines) they forced everyone to convert to Catholicism and to adopt Spanish names, native names being too dificult for the colonial masters to pronounce. In order to keep a closer eye on everyone, the colonists made everyone suffer the further humiliation of packing up and moving to Guam, leaving behind their ancestral homelands. While the Chamorros were off in the southern island of Guam, the northern Marianas were resettled by people from the Caroline islands.

Eventually in the late 1800s Spain, as a result of the Spanish-American War handed Guam over to the U.S. and the Northern islands of Saipan, Tinian, Rota and some smaller uninhabited islands over to Germany. Most Chamorros were permitted to move back to their home islands but a lot of ownership records had been destroyed, adding to the confusion (a similar incident happened after the islands had been handed over to the Japanese in the early 20th century). Land ownership disputes, especially between Chamorros and Carolinians, are still pretty common to this day.

The largest industry on the island is tourism, Japan being the major market and bringing in thousands of tourists and millions of yen per year. After tourism is the (controversial) garment industry, importing cloth and workers from China and exporting the finished products duty-and tax-free into the U.S. Mainland, to be sold at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy stores around the country (complete with "Made in U.S.A." tags).

Nearby Tinian island is where the Enola Gay bomber took off for Japan (the loading pits for "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" as well as the airstrips are still viewable, that is when the U.S. Military aren't using the northern half of Tinian to practice invading Afghanistan, etc.). Tinian is also home to a brand-new casino and four star hotel, built by Chinese investors. Aviator Amelia Earhart was thought to have been last seen in the area as well. DHL founder Larry Hillblom lived and died here, setting off some legendary court battles as to who controlled his estate - his relatives, the government, or the dozens of young, barely legal women in the Philippines and Thailand he allegedly impregnated (just remember that next time you're shipping a package).